False online health information prompts doctors to intervene, survey finds

A new survey by the Canadian Medical Association finds doctors are increasingly intervening to address harm caused by patients acting on false information.

A new survey by the Canadian Medical Association finds doctors are increasingly intervening to address harm caused by patients acting on false health information found online.

The Physician Pulse survey, published Tuesday, reveals that 97 per cent of responding doctors have had to intervene to prevent harm or address consequences after a patient followed false or misleading health information found online, including information from AI.

The survey was completed by 645 physicians between April 6-13.

Dr. Margot Burnell, medical oncologist and president of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), says this data is concerning.

“When individuals are unable to access care in a timely fashion, they will go online to seek health information,” she told CTVNews.ca in an interview.

“We know from previous studies released within the past year that those individuals that follow advice from online sources are at a five-times increased risk of reporting self-harm.”

Most Canadians go online for health info: survey

The CMA’s 2026 Health and Media Tracking Survey published in February found that 89 per cent of responding Canadians go online for health information.

The survey was completed by 5,000 Canadians in November 2025.

While exposure to false health information is fairly stable across all generations, the study found a more noticeable increase among boomers from 2024 to this year. However, all generations saw an increase from 2024 to this year in exposure to false health information.

Generation Z and millennials are more likely to use AI to diagnose and treat a health issue, the study noted.

The most used platforms Canadians turn to for health information is Google and ChatGPT.

Burnell says Canadians turn online for a multitude of health reasons, including diagnosing and treating a health issue.

“They may turn online for a symptom such as rectal bleeding and they may be told the top reason is hemorrhoids or fissures, which is quite correct, that is the most common diagnosis,” she said.

“But as I say to my medical students that I teach: if somebody presents for the first time with rectal bleeding, with no history or context to that, then it’s really important that you put a finger up and examine the rectum to make sure that there’s no mass and to either confirm it’s a hemorrhoid or fissure, or confirm that it’s not and that further investigation is required.”

Further, Burnell says one family doctor saw a patient who had a skin rash that was made worse when they followed an online recommendation to apply a topical steroid cream.

Alternatively, she says individuals may go online to find out how long a viral illness should last and may become worried, believing they have something more serious when it doesn’t go away.

“Whereas if they went in and discussed it with their family doctor, who knows the community and has seen lots of individuals, then they may say: ‘No, this particular virus is going around and it tends to last much longer than the typical virus.’”

Shortage of physicians across Canada

Burnell says people go online for health information because information online is vast and readily available. They also do it because there is a shortage of health-care providers across the country.

According to a CMA study published in January 2025, there is a current need for nearly 23,000 more family physicians in Canada — a 49 per cent increase from the current supply.

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Canada also needs 14,000 more licensed practical nurses, 2,700 more nurse practitioners, 28,000 more registered nurses, 500 more registered psychiatric nurses and 2,000 more occupational therapists, the study found.

Federal, provincial and territorial health ministers met in Calgary in October 2025 to discuss ways to improve the health-care system, but the CMA said these talks “missed an opportunity” to deliver solutions.

Burnell says in addition to the shortage, patients also face barriers and delays accessing health-care providers quickly.

According to the CMA’s 2026 Health and Media Tracking Survey, although Canadians are concerned about the accuracy of health information online, the majority report that they still use it because they cannot access help from a health-care professional.

“There may be a delay in getting patients to see their family doctor or their specialists, and (patients) want an answer sooner than that,” she said.

But these delays are in part caused by health-care systems that are not interconnected, posing barriers for health-care professionals to communicate effectively with one another, as well as by administrative burdens.

‘Meet the patient where they are at’

The CMA, along with other provincial and territorial medication associations, will be in Ottawa this week meeting with parliamentarians and senators to discuss priorities to address health misinformation.

They will also discuss other pressing health-care challenges, including reducing administrative burden on physicians through new digital tools, strengthening access to team-based primary care, supporting Indigenous-led approaches to close health gaps and streamlining licensing for internationally trained health professionals.

One way the CMA is currently combatting health misinformation is through their “Heathcare For Real” initiative, which aims to make accurate health information readily available to the public.

“There are reputable sources online, but we need to identify those,” Burnell said. “We really need to educate our public, not only about health literary, but also digital literacy.”

“We need to meet the patient where they are at.”

But Burnell cautions individuals who look online for health information.

“Be very cautious on the information that you’ve obtained, and be curious where that information has come from,” she said.

“Who has put the information online? Are they reputable? Can it be validated? Can you find it in an academic setting?”